17 May - Sixth Sunday of Easter

As usual, here are my music lists for Sunday services.

My turn for cantoring came up at Immaculate Conception. Any numbers you see come out of GIA's Gather Comprehensive 1994 (green cover).

Sunday 7.45 am Mass: Sixth Sunday of Easter
Prelude: Air on the G String (J.S. Bach)
Hymn in Procession: 445, That Easter day with joy was bright (PUER NOBIS)
Psalm: Psalm 98, (antiphon 263 (Hughes Alleluia in C); verses set to Tone VIII)
Gospel Acclamation: 261 (A.G. Murray)
Offertory: 625, Where charity and love prevail (CHRISTIAN LOVE)
Sanctus, Mem. Accl., Amen, Agnus Dei: 166-168; 171, Mass of Creation
Communion Solo: Regina Coeli
Recessional Hymn: 482, Jesus shall reign where'er the sun (DUKE STREET)
Postlude: Prelude to Te Deum (M.A. Charpentier)

As far as the Communion chant was concerned: I could have done the "simpler" version that is found in the Gather Hymnal, but considering how many times I've sung the "fancier" version at Compline, I decided I would chant that version. I received many compliments on it. Even as I was walking out of the church, people were stopping me and telling me how lovely they found the chant, and my effort overall that morning.

/stepping on soapbox

It's just as what others have said all along – there is a hunger for this kind of music, and people are clamouring to hear more chant at the Mass. Wasn't it stated that chant should have pride of place during the Liturgy? IMHO, we should make more of an effort to include chant in the Mass.

/stepping off the soapbox

Okay, it's a mild rant, but that is definitely how I feel. I am glad that I can do my small part toward this goal. :)

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St. Joseph's Episcopal Church where I played the usual 10.30 am service. As usual, the numbers are out of The Hymnal 1982.

Sixth Sunday of Easter: Holy Eucharist Rite II
Prelude: Mass for the Convents: Plein jeu and Récit de Chromhorne (F. Couperin)
Processional Hymn: 204, Now the green blade riseth (NOËL NOUVELET)
Gloria: S-280 (Powell)
Psalm: Ps 98 (Barrett)
Sequence Hymn: 392, Come, we that love the Lord (VINEYARD HAVEN)
Offertory Hymn: 455, O Love of God, how strong and true (DUNEDIN)
Sanctus: S-125, Community Mass (Proulx)
Lord's Prayer: chanted (S-119 in Hymnal 1982)
Fraction Anthem: S-154, New Plainsong (Hurd)
Communion Motet: My Eyes for Beauty Pine (H. Howells)
Recessional Hymn: 292, O Jesus, crowned with all renown (KINGSFOLD)
Postlude: Mass for the Convents: Offertoire sur les grands jeux (F. Couperin)

Heh. The Recessional Hymn was my acknowledgement that the Sixth Sunday after Easter was also known as Rogation Sunday.

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Next service: My turn came up to play the the 5.15 pm service at Chapel of the Cross. I sang the Offertory anthem with the Parish Choir.

Prelude: Mass for the Convents: Plein jeu and Récit de Chromhorne (F. Couperin)
Processional Hymn: 174, At the Lamb's high feast we sing (SALZBURG)
Gloria: S-280 (Powell)
Psalm: Psalm 98, recited
Sequence Hymn: 455, O Love of God, how strong and true (DUNEDIN)
Offertory: Hallelujah, Amen from Judas Maccebeus (G.F. Handel)
Sanctus: S-125 Community Mass (R. Proulx)
Communion Voluntary: Mass for the Convents: Tierce en Taille (Elevation; F. Couperin)
Communion Hymn: 706, In your mercy, Lord, you called me (HALTON HOLGATE)
Recessional Hymn: 477, All praise to thee, for thou, O King divine (ENGELBERG)
Postlude: Mass for the Convents: Offertoire sur les grands jeux (F. Couperin)

I really love playing the Dobson organ. I also appreciate the adjustable bench as well. Having to play on a bench that is too high for me has negatively affected my pedalling technique.

The next time I'll be playing the 5:15 pm service will be on Pentecost Sunday.

Celebration and Blessing of Marriage ...

Last Saturday morning, the Senior Choir at Chapel of the Cross very happily sung at the marriage of Theresa Zucchero and Dave Scocca.

It was a wonderful celebration of music and fellowship.

Theresa requested the Bruckner setting of the Ave Maria. So the Senior Choir spent a couple of weeks learning this wonderful piece.

Here is the Order of Worship. Numbers are out of The Hymnal 1982.

Seating of the Mothers:
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (J.S. Bach)

Bridal Processional:
The Old Hundredth Psalm Tune (Hymn 377; R.V. Williams)

Here I will interrupt my list. This was treated as a Processional Hymn, so the people sang with the choir. Those of you familiar with this setting know there is the fanfare before verses 1 and 5. The bride processed in to the fanfare preceding verse 5.

Declaration of Consent
The Collect
The First Lesson: Colossians 3:12-17
Paslm: Ps150 (Anglican chant setting by G.S. Talbot)
The Second Lesson: 1 John 4:7-16
Sequence Hymn: 376, Joyful, joyful we adore thee (HYMN TO JOY)
The Gospel: Mark 10:6-9; 13-16
The Homily
The Marriage
The Prayers
The Blessing of the Marriage
The Peace
Offertory Anthem: Ave Maria (A. Bruckner)
The Great Thanksgiving
Sanctus: S-130, Deutsche Messe (F. Schubert)
The Breaking of the Bread
Communion motet: Ubi caritas et amor (M. Duruflé)
Communion hymn: 516, Come down, O love divine (DOWN AMPNEY)
The Prayer after the Communion
Closing Hymn: 665, All my hope on God is founded (MICHAEL)
The Blessing
The Dismissal
Recessional: Toccata from Symphonie V (C.-M. Widor)

Congratulations again to Dave and Theresa Scocca.

I'll end with a very sweet poem that was included as a wedding favour from their reception. Each guest received a small bag filled with five sweet almonds.

Five sugared almonds for each guest to eat
To remind us that life is both bitter and sweet.
Five wishes for the new husband and wife –
Health, wealth, happiness, children, and a long life!

10 May - Fifth Sunday of Easter

Eh, again, this is one week late.

As usual ... my music lists for Sunday services.

St. Joseph's Episcopal Church where I played the usual 10.30 am service. As usual, the numbers are out of The Hymnal 1982.

Fifth Sunday of Easter: Holy Eucharist Rite II
Prelude: A Blessing (J. Chepponis)
Pro: LEVAS II 50, The angel said to Philip (NYLAND)
Gloria: S-280 (Powell)
Psalm: Ps 22 (Guimont)
Seq: 379, God is Love, let heaven adore him (ABBOT'S LEIGH)
Off: 457, Thou art the Way, to thee alone (ST JAMES)
Sanctus: S-125, Community Mass (Proulx)
Lord's Prayer: chanted (S-119 in Hymnal 1982)
Fraction Anthem: S-154, New Plainsong (Hurd)
Communion Motet: If Ye Love Me (T. Tallis)
Communion Hymn: 323, Bread of heaven, on thee we feed (JESU, JESU DU MEIN HIRT)
Re: 344, Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing (SICILIAN MARINERS)
Postlude: Dialogue sure les grands jeux from Mass of the Convents (F. Couperin)

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I played the 4.00 pm service for Carol Woods, which is organised by Chapel of the Cross. I will be happily providing the music for them during the summer.

The music list:

Prelude: Prelude on Simple Gifts (W. Held)
Pro: 657, Love divine, all loves excelling (HYFRYDOL)
Psalm: Psalm 22 (recited)
Seq: 379, God is Love, let heaven adore him (ABBOT'S LEIGH)
Off: 213, Come away to the skies (MIDDLEBURY)
Comm: Fugue in C Major (G.F. Handel); Ricercar in E-Flat Major (O. Di Lasso) - these two selections from The Parish Organist, ed. H. Fleischer
Re: 529, In Christ there is no east nor west (McKEE)
Postlude: Maestoso in D Major (J.E. Kindermann)

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I will try not to be so late with the music slated for tomorrow. On tap: a 7.45 am Mass at Immaculate Conception, my usual 10.30 am service at St Joseph's, and a 5.15 pm service at Chapel of the Cross. I was in a Couperin mood, so I've been working on a few movements from Mass of the Convents. They'll be featured as prelude and postlude at St Joseph's and Chapel of the Cross tomorrow.

In the meantime - my friends Theresa and Dave will be married in three hours' time, and I'll be singing with the choir. I will post the music list for that service. Congratulations, Theresa and Dave!

All for a Good Cause

Yesterday, SQPN went bananas as they held their second annual podcast marathon. I wasn't able to watch the whole thing, but there are a few highlights I wanted to share with you.

On the serious and sane side: Many many thanks to the iPadre for using his half an hour for a Virtual Holy Hour. He prayed Compline with us whilst exposing the Blessed Sacrament. It was *wonderful*.

The prizes for "taking one for the team" go to Louisa and the trio of Fr Roderick, Mark, and Inge. If I've done this right, the videos will be embedded below.



Louisa sang sailor songs and wore her wetsuit, complete with brightly coloured yellow flippers, and raised money for the cause. She got up early (or stayed up late, depending on perspective) and was carrying out these antics at 3.00 am BST. She did a wonderful job, and everyone enjoyed her hour and change.

The grand prize, IMHO, goes to Fr Roderick, Mark, and Inge for enduring not just one, but two Scary Smoothies! People pledged money to SQPN for ingredients to go into Fr Roderick's blender, and the results would be consumed by the three of them. I will admit to laughing really hard as they put it together, and feeling lots of sympathy for them as they drank it. I missed smoothie #2 but I'm glad they recorded the video for us to enjoy over and over again.

Smoothie #1: ice, yoghurt, banana, potatoes (they looked like small new potatoes), garlic-flavoured olives, Dijon mustard, and grated gouda cheese.

The verdict: it's not completely bad, but it's weird. The three of them managed to finish it without too much gagging.

Smoothie #2: milk, ice, 3 oreo cookies, licorice-flavoured gumdrops, tuna, 3 pieces smoked sausage, 1 kiwifruit (skin and all), about half a can of Sprite, half a spoonful of Sambal Ulek (an Indonesian chilli paste), and about 3 dashes of Tabasco sauce.

The verdict: well, the texture is chunky, and the colour ... you should see the video to see that. I'm so glad we don't have smell-o-vision; they were complaining about the smell as it came out of the blender. You'll have to watch the video to see their reactions. Suffice to say, as I was watching this, my eyes were tearing so much from all the laughter! But they did manage to drink all of it, and lived to tell the tale.



I heard that they were feeling awful and nauseated for the hours that followed. (Since Amersfoort, Netherlands is six hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time, it was around 8-9 pm their time when they concocted and drank those smoothies.) But it was all for a good cause. They raised $2,000 toward their overall goal of raising $10,000 during the thirteen-hour podcast marathon, and they reached the goal!!! Well done, everyone! Read Fr Roderick's summary post here.

SQPN Podcast Marathon!!!

I'm over at SQPN's uStream channel at the moment, watching Fr Roderick and friends (Inge and Mark) go bananas as they start off the SQPN Podcast Marathon. So far, they've sung silly songs, exercised to Wii Fit, and will be making Scary Smoothies.

Of course, this is part of their fund raising drive to help keep SQPN running so that they can continue to provide and produce their wonderful podcasts. Please do your part to keep them going, and click here to donate. You may use PayPal, and the donations are tax-deductible.

If I've done this right, you should be able to see the video embedded below.

3 May - Fourth Sunday of Easter

Eh, this is one week late.

As usual ... my music lists for Sunday services.

St. Joseph's Episcopal Church where I played the usual 10.30 am service. As usual, the numbers are out of The Hymnal 1982.

Fourth Sunday of Easter: Holy Eucharist Rite II
Prelude: Prelude on Land of Rest (W. Held)
Pro: 304, I come with joy to meet my Lord (LAND OF REST)
Gloria: S-280 (Powell)
Psalm: Ps 23 (Barrett)
Seq: 478, Jesus, our mighty Lord (MONK'S GATE)
Off: 645, The King of love my shepherd is (ST COLUMBA)
Sanctus: S-125, Community Mass (Proulx)
Lord's Prayer: chanted (S-119 in Hymnal 1982)
Fraction Anthem: S-154, New Plainsong (Hurd)
Communion Song: Shepherd Me, O God (M. Haugen)
Re: 525, The Church's one foundation (AURELIA)
Postlude: Triumphal March (G.F. Handel)

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Compline at Chapel of the Cross.

This is the last Compline of the 2008-2009 academic year. We had a wonderful group of singers, and we've been able to greatly expand our repertoire. It's been a lot of fun singing with this group, and we'll miss those who will be leaving due to graduation or other reasons. Ian E. and I have taken pictures; look for them on Facebook (but you might have to friend us to see them).

We've been using the Order for Compline, as set by David Hurd. Our little additions:

Duo Seraphim (Jacob Handl)
Psalms 91 and 134 (chanted to Tone 8)
Hymn: Christ, mighty Saviour (CHRISTE, LUX MUNDI, plainsong Mode 7)
In manus tuas (Sheppard; sung in addition to "Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit ...)
Nunc Dimittis from Short Service (O. Gibbons)
Concluding Versicle and Response in Easter Season ("Let us bless the Lord, alleluia, alleluia ...")
Regina Coeli (Marian antiphon right after the Dismissal)
Ave Maria (Robert Parsons)
Organ Voluntary by the abfab David Arcus.

I will miss Compline. We did do a recording of it, thanks to one of the regular attendees of the Compline services. If you are interested in acquiring a copy, please contact me and we'll see about getting a copy to you.

The luck of the draw ...

How is it even remotely possible that I would draw the cantoring duties at Immaculate Conception and the organ-playing duties for the 5.15 pm service at Chapel of the Cross on the same day? 17 May, Easter VI, and 31 May, Pentecost.

Ah well. Considering that the academic year will have been over and done with by that time, I'd probably be at a loss as to what to do with myself on Sunday afternoons.